Merry Christmas

We would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a very merry Christmas and a happy new year. It will be a little quiet on here for a week or so as we enjoy the festivities over the Christmas period, but we would like to thank you all for reading these pages and listening and contributing to the adventures of a very special little boat and her crew.

Merry Christmas one and all and we will see you all bright and early in the New Year.

Best Wishes

Naughty-Cal (the skipper), Liam (who thinks he is the skipper) and Rachael (the galley slave)

Condensation

It is that time of year again when the boating forums are full of people asking questions on how to reduce condensation aboard their boats. The simple answer of course is to increase the ventilation flow through the boat which will greatly reduce and often eliminate condensation build up altogether and reduce the amount of water vapour produced on board.

Some boats seem to be more prone to condensation than others which can only be put down to construction methods and poor insulation installations. Boats with large windows often suffer streaming condensation as a result of warm water bearing air coming into contact with large cold surfaces; double glazing isn’t as yet common place on boats. We have spent years improving the construction of our houses to provide better insulating properties, yet boat builders seem to ignore the lessons which have already been learnt elsewhere.

We are quite lucky with Naughty-Cal in that her construction is a naturally insulating structure, the air gap between the two skins acting as a natural barrier to the colder air outside. That coupled with the small windows and hatches provide an effective force against condensation build up in the cabin. We do provide lots of ventilation throughout the boat whilst we are aboard with the windows open and the hatches cracked open to provide lots of air flow around the cabin even in the coldest of weather. This needn’t mean that the boat is cold though as the heating system compensates for the temperature difference keeping the cabin toasty warm even on the coldest of days. The cockpit area does suffer with some condensation during very cold, still mornings which is hardly surprising given the canvas and plastic construction, but a few hours with the diesel heating on soon dries things out again. If there has been a breeze during the night the air flow around the cockpit keeps the area nice and dry but as the cockpit is designed to get wet, condensation here doesn’t cause a problem like it would in the cabin area of the boat.

Reducing the amount of condensation you produce on board also helps to keep your boat dry during the winter months. Cooking, bathing and breathing are the biggest contributors to condensation build up. Breathing you can’t do much about but it is possible to cut down on cooking condensation. Putting lids on pans on the hob, only boiling the kettle when necessary, using a slow cooker, and only washing pots when you have to will all reduce the amounts of steam produced. Where possible using land based shower facilities will also reduce condensation amounts considerably onboard. We are now only using our boat shower when away from our home berth, using the marina facilities most of the time instead.

There are a few other ways in which you can help keep a dry boat, ensuring your bilges are dry will cut down on moisture aboard and is good housekeeping anyway. Stagnant bilge water will start to smell very quickly. If you have a really bad problem with condensation then a dehumidifier may help to reduce the moisture aboard and keep the cabin dry but this does rely on a reliable shore power source. We use desiccant filled bags to aid keeping our cabin dry as it is a reasonably small area and given the amount of times during a winter that they need to be taken home and dried out, then I would say that they are reasonably effective at keeping moisture at bay. They may not be suitable for all boats however due to the limited protection that they can offer to larger spaces.

Reducing condensation is something that all boat owners should take seriously as the moisture can be a breeding ground for moulds and other fungus’s which can cause health problems as well as widespread damage to fixtures and fittings if left unchecked. Good housekeeping and adequate ventilation should however banish the beasties and help keep your boat dry and condensation free.

A Great Weekend

How has it gotten to be Wednesday already? This week is just flying by and I can’t keep up, what with work, wrapping present, delivering presents. At this rate we won’t be finished in time for the weekend!
Anyway last weekend was another lively one. The quiet evening we had promised ourselves didn’t happen, we were kidnapped by our friends on Wish You Were Here and forced to drink lots of Budweiser. Terrible really and we suffered for it on Saturday when we could have really done with being fully alert.

So on Saturday, we had a relatively late start for us, not getting up until about 9am before showering and heading out to finish the Christmas shopping in Lincoln. It was busy in town so we hurriedly did our remaining bits of purchasing before retreating to the calmness of the marina for the afternoon. Later that afternoon before it got dark we took Naughty-Cal over to our friend’s house in readiness for our evening meal. Devocean was already positioned on her neighbours mooring so all we had to do was stern in to the pontoon and leave room for Wish You Were Here beside us. We spent the evening swapping stories, drinking Bud again and eating fine food before all retiring to warm beds late in the evening, well oiled and ready to crash out.

I was first up on Sunday and as you already know prepared dinner in plenty of time for eating later that evening. Then we sat and drank coffee to ease the hangovers and relaxed with the local radio station playing in the background whilst reading the paper and tackling the puzzle pages. It wasn’t until about midday that we eventually made our way back to our own moorings, where we wrapped up some of our Christmas presents and entertained our guests. Sunday was a quiet day and we really did very little onboard bar filling up the water tank and hosing down the bathroom, we will have to make up for that next Saturday. We eventually enjoyed a delightful evening meal before hitting the sack early, ready for a busy week ahead and what a busy week it has proven to be so far. It doesn’t look likely to get any quieter before Friday either.

Slow Cooker Success

We had our first slow cooked meal on Sunday and it was simply amazing. Slow cooked Jerk chicken with sweet potatoes, carrots, broccoli and stuffing. Quite why it has taken us so long to embrace the slow cooker is beyond me already after just one meal. We will certainly be preparing many more meals in the slow cooker if this last one is anything to go by. So simple to prepare and so simple to cook yet with excellent results. The only thing I did find strange was having to leave it alone all day. I like to be a hands on cook so leaving a dish in the corner all day with the lid on was a strange one on me.

I was up first on Sunday morning so it fell to me to prepare and start Sunday lunch which wasn’t difficult in the least; even the most novice cook can do this one, trust me. I greased the bottom of the cooking pot and put a layer of chopped up sweet potatoes on the bottom, sprinkling some Jerk seasoning over them and tossing them to make sure they were all well coated with oil and seasoning . Next I added the small whole chicken, about 1.25kg, on top of the sweet potatoes, oiling the skin and sprinkling with a good dose of Jerk herbs and spices, salt and pepper, before squeezing over the juice of a lemon, making sure that some of the lemon juice was sprinkled on to the sweet potatoes as well. I placed the squeezed lemon in the chicken’s body cavity for some extra lemony zing to the meat which also worked really well. Then I stuck the cooker on high and sat back with some coffee and the paper and let the cooker do its business whilst I did battle with the crossword and Sudoku. This is so simple it defies belief, after an hour on high the cooker was turned down to low and left to its own devices for about seven hours whilst we went about our daily chores and entertained our guests for the afternoon. An hour and a half before we wanted to eat I added the chopped broccoli and carrots and the stuffing balls, positioning them around the chicken and turned the cooker up to high again for that last blast of heat. The result was a super succulent chicken, cooked to perfection and falling off the bone with tender vegetables and perfect stuffing. This has to be one of the easiest forms of cooking around, plus as everything is cooked in the same pot there isn’t much washing up to do afterwards, excellent.

On the back of this success I have decided that Christmas dinner will be cooked in the slow cooker as well, turkey should be just as good as chicken in theory when cooked this way. I will add a coating of butter to the Turkey breast though as it will have less fat compared to the chicken so this should help to keep it succulent. The slow cooker will take all of the stress out of attempting to cook a three course dinner on board Naughty-Cal, as the main course will pretty much look after itself, leaving just the starter to cook prior to us eating and the dessert to prepare at some time during Christmas morning. Looks like this year’s Christmas dinner will be a doddle and I will get to go to the pub for that Christmas dinner time pint as well. If the weather stays good we might even be able to take the boat out for a Christmas day cruise, something we have as yet been unable to do either due to bad weather or other family commitments.

One other point in favour of the slow cooker and one well worth considering is the lack of condensation created when compared to cooking on the traditional gas hob. There was a noticeable lack of condensation throughout the slow cooking process, something which can only be a good thing onboard a boat during the winter months when condensation can become a major headache unless adequate ventilation is provided.

It is safe to say that we are already very impressed with the slow cooker and this will be the first of many meals cooked onboard Naughty-Cal with this one, both on our home berth and on our travels during the summer months. We also have plans to purchase a second slow cooker for at home so that we can enjoy slow cooked meals at home after work. This could be the start of some great grub discoveries.

Another Weekend Is Upon Us

With a splattering of snow on the ground another weekend has rolled on around. We have a busy weekend in store this week so tonight is going to be our only chance to relax and unwind with a few drinks and some good food whilst tucked up cosy and warm on Naughty-Cal. The heating will have already switched on by the time we arrive so she should be lovely and warm, ready for our arrival.

Saturday will be mostly taken up with Christmas shopping. I have bought the presents for the adults today so it will be shopping for the kids on Saturday. Trawling around the busy Lincoln high street isn’t my idea of fun but needs must. We will finish the mornings shopping off with a trip to the markets to stock up with food for the week ahead. With this thankless task out of the way it will be time to head back to the marina and give the bottom of the dinghy a scrub. We gave her bum a clean to rid her of the algae growth before hoisting her onto the davits but she still has a rather unsightly lime scale mark on her hull. We have been reliably informed that Cillit Bang will remove this so are going to give it a go over the weekend. With this done we can have a couple of hours to relax before heading across the lake to our friends house for dinner. If the lake isn’t frozen we are taking the boat across and will spend the night on their mooring. If there is ice forecast it will be a long walk around the estate to reach their house.

On Sunday we will be trying out our new slow cooker. So it will be a reasonably early start for me to get the meat and vegetables prepped and in the pot. Then we should have time for a spot of breakfast before we are descended on by yet more friends. No doubt we will have a few drinks and if time and the weather allow we will probably have a trip in to Lincoln and the pub on the way back. Before dinner we will have the dreaded task of wrapping Christmas presents helped along I hope by a few drinks and some good music. Then we can finally settle in, enjoy our slowly cooked, and hopefully beautiful dinner before getting ready for bed and ready to come home on Monday morning.

Another busy weekend in store then.

Slow Cooker

We have finally gotten around to ordering a small capacity slow cooker for the boat. We have been after one for quite a while now but have always seemed to have better ways to spend our cash. With the onset of winter and the need for homely, comfort food, and the eventual installation of the inverter on Naughty-Cal, we have run out of excuses for not jumping in and making the purchase. So the order has been made for a 3.3 litre Tesco branded stainless steel slow cooker complete with non stick removable interior cooking bowl and a glass lid for ease of cleaning and use. This should be the ideal size for the boat, cooking for two easily with the ability to stretch to meals for four should the need arise.

Looking at the quoted power consumption figures we will be fine to use the thing whilst we are away from our mooring. At 100 to 150 watts, depending on what setting it is on, it will consume around about 12.5Ah at 12 volts plus a little more for inverter losses so around the 15Ah mark. We could safely leave this running for around 6 or 7 hours whilst moored up away from electric hook up before we start to abuse our batteries, taking them below the magic 50% state of charge. Whilst out and about cruising, the alternator will easily provide the necessary power for the cooker as well as extra for battery charging so it seems to be a sensible idea to extend our available cooking capacity easily and at a bargain price. At this time of year it is unlikely that we will be away from our berth and the electricity bollard for those amounts of time, but it will allow us to prepare a nice stew or Sunday lunch and leave it cooking for the day whilst we go about our daily business and enjoy a few pints in the pub, the meal still cooking away in the galley. During the summer months we will be cruising for longer which will mean that we can prepare our evening meal in the morning, cruise all day and have the meal quietly cooking away whilst we cruise along the waterways. We must ensure it is stored safely and kept upright whilst we have a meal in the pot though, which could take some thinking about at the speeds we can travel, otherwise it could get messy in the galley!

The next issue is storing the cooker. At 3.3 litres it isn’t the biggest slow cooker in the world but neither is Naughty-Cal the biggest boat in the world and with all of the clobber we have on board it will take some squeezing in. Top of the list of places to house it is the starboard locker which already houses the toaster, it will need a clearout though and some other items relocating around the boat. I suspect Saturday will be spent trying to wedge the cooker into a tight space.

Now we just need to experiment with some tasty meals to cook in our new gadget. So do any of you out there have any great recipes for slow cooker cooking? I already have one for a beer basted pork joint and vegetables which I am going to try out on Sunday for our evening meal and a beef goulash recipe that I am told is to die for, so any other great ideas out there?

Cheese, Tomato and Pepperoni Tart

We tried this for the first time last night and it was delicious. Very simple to prepare, it tooK maybe ten minutes to prepare including watching parts of the evening news.

For this simple dish you will need:
· Readymade puff pastry
· Tomato puree
· Grated cheese
· Mozzarella
· Sliced tomatoes
· Pepperoni

Preparation couldn’t be simpler, preheat the oven to 200 degrees, grease a baking tray and roll your pastry out to fit the greased tray. Next score a line about 1cm from the edge of your pastry; this will make the crust puff up around the edges. Next spread the tomato puree over your puff pastry base and sprinkle on half of your grated cheese. Then with the base covered in grated cheese arrange slices of mozzarella, tomato and pepperoni on top and finally sprinkle the rest of your grated cheese on top. Bake for 20 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown and lovely and crisp and flaky.

Serve hot with fresh salad and dressing and everyone is bound to like this easy and delicious tart dish. Cooking doesn’t get much simpler than this.

Wrap Up Warm

It has certainly been a cold one with temperatures plunging to well below freezing over night. The diesel heating has been on for quite a lot of the weekend and the extra blanket we brought to the boat last weekend has certainly come into its own this weekend.

On Friday night we battled through wind, sleet and snow to make it to the marina, taking a pit stop at MacDonald’s to grab some fodder before heading to the boat and hunkering down, wrapped up warm against the cold northerly wind. With a few beers down and the weather turning ever colder we hit the sack early ready for a full day on Saturday.

Saturday morning was cold, very cold in fact. There was a harsh frost covering everything in white and the boats and water in a layer of ice. With the heating ticking away we left Cal to defrost whilst we both had hot showers and hot coffee. Finally defrosted we set off in the direction of Lincoln to do a spot of Christmas shopping, stock up on fresh meat and vegetables and grab a spot of lunch, ice breaking the whole way. With this little lot done we settled in for a couple of drinks, allowing some extra time for the ice to thaw, before heading back to the marina in a lovely toasty warm boat. Saturday evening was relatively quiet with just a few beers enjoyed in good company and some good food to round off the evening before heading to a warm bed, courtesy of the electric blanket.

Sunday was another cold start but not as cold as the morning previous. With nowhere to go and no plans a foot we settled in listening to the radio and reading the Sunday papers. A trip to Subway filled our bellies with good food. Then in our warm cocoon of a cockpit we were safe from the winter weather outside and we whiled away the afternoon with the crossword puzzle, Sudoku, and of course the mandatory few cold beers. As evening fell our thoughts turned to dinner and with a fully stocked fridge we were spoilt for choice, eventually settling on good honest homemade spaghetti bolognaise. With the dinner pots washed, both of us showered and the car packed ready for work in the morning, there was nothing much left to do bar turn into a warm bed listening to the ropes creaking as they go about their endless work.

The first proper wintery weekend of this season has been thoroughly enjoyable and relaxing but we must not get used to all of this rest and relaxation, we have a long list of jobs to start and finish this winter in readiness for the warmer months and some serious cruising. They are not getting done at this rate.....

Rising Fuel Costs?

As we all know fuel costs have been rocketing for the last couple of years so as a little experiment we decided to keep a log of how many miles we travelled and how many litres of fuel we have used. We have done this for the last couple of years, so for the whole of 2010 and 2011. We won’t be doing many more miles this year so we have decided to check out the figures and see how they stack up. The figures are purely based on miles travelled and litres of fuel used and take no account of the diesel used for heating the boat or time spent with the engine idling. They are also based on starting the season with a full fuel tank and ending the season with a full fuel tank which is how we like to operate. The approximate cost per hour is based on our long term average speed of 5mph which takes account of time spent on the canals at 4mph or less, as well as time spent on the tidal rivers, estuary and coast at 25 knots plus.

2010
· 1216 miles travelled
· 923 litres of fuel used
· £696.91 cost of fuel
· 76p per litre average cost of fuel
· 58p per mile travelled
· Approx 5.95mpg
· Approx cost per hour = £2.90

2011
· 1322 miles travelled
· 1177 litres of fuel used
· £1087.57 cost of fuel
· 92p per litre average cost of fuel
· 82p per mile travelled
· Approx. 5.05mpg
· Approx cost per hour = £4.10

As you can see over the past 12 months the cost of fuel has risen and whilst it may sound like a lot and look like a lot at the pumps, the overall additional cost over the year has equated to a mere £1.20 per hour, a small price to pay for the enjoyment which we get from our boat.
The fuel price hikes have been felt much more by those who run petrol powered sports boats, as they don’t have the option of tax relief on their fuel. The price they see at the pumps is the price they pay to refuel and with prices hitting £1.40 per litre in the petrol stations and £1.50 or more water side, it is starting to hurt the wallets. Our friends with petrol boats have used their boats much less this last year than in previous years.

There is a noticeable drop in miles per gallon achieved between 2010 and 2011 which is purely down to the type of cruising we have been doing in the two seasons. During 2010 we spent most of our holidays on the inland waterways, plodding along at lower engine revs, giving better fuel economy. During 2011 we have spent much longer on the coast with the engine working harder for longer, thus using more fuel in the process. We are not overly concerned with these figures and for the type of boat we have they are actually astounding figures, much better than one would expect from a sports cruiser.

We will continue to log our distance travelled, fuel used and cost of fuel so that we can compare the cost of boating year on year. Of course fuel is only a small part of the cost of owning a boat but it seems to be one that gets a lot of attention, especially with the continually rising prices and changes in legislation.

Rock A Bye Baby

Winter is certainly here and with it has come the wave after wave of winter storms. So far this week we have been battered by wind, rain, hail and snow and the temperatures have plummeted. The biggest storm of the season so far is due to head across the country today, bringing with it gale force winds and heavy rain before pulling down cold air from the Arctic and plunging us into a cold snap with snow forecast as far south as the Midlands. It should make for an interesting few days weather. Hopefully it won’t prevent us from getting to the boat tomorrow evening.

Naughty-Cal will no doubt be rocking and rolling around on her berth but there is nothing we can do for her from here in Sheffield. Her mooring ropes are secure and tied in such a fashion so as to reduce her movement to a minimum so she will weather this storm well.

We don’t mind the rocking and rolling of the boat in the wind, the lapping waves on the hull a reminder that we are afloat. After July’s session moored in a harbour in a Force 8 storm, the sheltered waters of the inland system seem a far cry away and even in the fiercest of storms at Burton Waters we have yet to experience anything like the ferocity of the Wells July storms. Being caught in bad weather like that puts into perspective the relative calm and shelter of the inland waterways.

A Change of Heart

We have been thinking further into our holiday plans for 2012 and have come to the conclusion that we will save Ely and Cambridge for another year. Instead of having a two week holiday in the middle of the summer, next year we will split up our summer holiday into two separate weeks, one in July and one in September.

It was lovely to have a two week break this year but it has meant a long slog from the beginning of July all the way to Christmas with no holidays. So next year we plan to have a week in July to head out onto the Norfolk coast to Wells next the Sea and a week in September to head down the Trent and up the Ouse to York.

We will never tire of going to Wells, it makes for a great coastal trip and the town and harbour have so much to see and do. If the weather is right a nip around the corner takes you to Blakeney bay, a great place to spend an afternoon at anchor. With good weather the dinghies come into their own exploring the many tiny creeks and inlets cutting into the main navigation channel. If the weather is not so great, then it is only a short bus ride to one of many local towns and villages and a pleasant walk back along the coastal footpaths exploring the Norfolk coastline by foot brings a whole different perspective to the experience. The harbour staff are all extremely helpful and friendly which ensures a great stay is guaranteed, nothing is too much trouble for them. On the way back from Wells we may, if time allows, spend an evening at Fossdyke on the tidal Welland. A spot we have yet to explore but we have heard great things about the local pub’s grub.

The trip to York is one we have done a couple of times now, however it is again one which we will never tire of. York is a great city to spend time in and to visit by boat is just the cherry on the cake. The trip to York takes in a wide variety of waterways from canals, to tidal and non tidal rivers and very briefly the Humber estuary. We will pick a week to go when the tides allow us to make it from Torksey to Naburn in the one tide, anchoring at Trent Falls to await the incoming afternoon/evening tide to carry us up the Ouse. This ensures that we have as much time as possible to explore the city before heading back for home. We usually take the long way home, entering the canal system at Selby and navigating through the Selby Canal, River Aire, Aire and Calder and the Sheffield and South Yorkshire Navigations before finally exiting the system onto the Tidal Trent at Keadby. This little detour breaks up the trip and takes in some surprisingly pretty scenery despite the very commercial nature of these navigations.

These two familiar trips will complement our plans to travel to places unknown for our first two holidays of the year; Leeds at Easter and Whitby and Scarborough during Whitsun week. They will also enable us to spread out our cruising for 2012 and enjoy the places we know and love for more of the year.

Batteries Again

Over the weekend, we gave our batteries their biggest challenge to date. The whole weekend moored outside the pub with no hook up or engine running. Through the cruising season we normally cruise every day, rarely staying in the same place for more than a day. This helps to ensure that the batteries are topped up and rarely drop below 12.6V. With the weather being on the cold side over the weekend we had the heating on quite a lot and the lighting of course now that the evenings have drawn in. To our surprise the batteries held out exceptionally well and were still showing 12.4V when we left to head home on Sunday afternoon. No power worries there then.

In total contrast, our friends arrived on Saturday evening and from the word go they were having power issues. Their one leisure battery has been on its last legs for much of this season giving them endless power supply problems. They still have not replaced it and spent much of their time away from their mooring with the engine running, a false economy if ever there was one.

I have never understood why people try to squeeze that extra couple of weeks or months out of their batteries. If they are starting to become unreliable then surely it is time to replace them. Replacing our batteries this time last year was the best thing we have done. It has transformed the boat and the way that we can use her. The energy saving measures we have also put into place has vastly reduced our power consumption and reliance on shore power. For the sake of £225 (two 105 amp leisure batteries and one starter battery) we have saved ourselves a lot of hassle and disappointment and should have a few trouble free cruising years. That equates to just £75 per year, a minimal cost when it comes to boat ownership. Is it worth the penny pinching?

At this time of the year we won’t be spending much time away from our home berth so the “smart” battery charger will look after the batteries and keep them in tip top condition ready for next year’s cruising season. The battery charger is again an item that is often over looked. Our Newmar “smart” charger is an expensive piece of kit to buy but cheaper “smart” chargers are available that will do a similar job and look after your batteries. Again some people fail to realise that a small trickle charger is going to struggle to keep up with the day to day demands that living onboard puts on the electrical system. Trickle chargers are fine if you are going to leave your boat unattended for long periods, they will keep your batteries topped up but they don’t stand a chance of keeping up with your power consumption if you are spending time onboard. Yes they are cheaper, but yes they will struggle.

Power is a big consideration when you are spending time on your boat. Trying to cut corners will only come back to bite you eventually, there are no easy ways out. Batteries and chargers are not cheap purchases when you have the initial outlay to find, but in the long run it makes firm financial sense to make the most of your money and make the right purchases the first time.

What a Weekend

It has certainly been a great weekend and we have been exceptionally lucky with the weather, especially given the time of year.

On Friday evening we arrived at the marina, loaded up the boat, had a quick shower using the land based marina facilities and then made our way to the Pyewipe to grab a good mooring for the weekend. It would have been rude not to have a few pints as we were on the pub moorings so we made our way inside to make the most of the bar. After a few pints we made our way back to a warm boat and a warm bed for an early night.

Saturday dawned a bright, sunny yet chilly day and after a lazy start and a couple of cups of coffee we set off for a walk into Lincoln to grab a bite to eat and to do some shopping. The walk along the river bank is pleasant enough with views across the fields and adjacent golf course and farmers fields. We grabbed breakfast at the waterside Square Sail. A J.D Wetherspoon’s establishment that served us a massive breakfast and four huge cups of coffee for £8, not a bad price and not bad grub in the scheme of things. A trip to the markets followed where we stocked up on fresh meat, fruit and vegetables before heading back to the boat. The folding trolley we had bought during the week was a god send and well worth the £15 price tag. It saved us from carrying the heavy shopping along the tow path. Back at the boat we had yet more coffee before starting to get ready for the evening party. We both had luke warm showers, a great way to freshen up, before waiting for the arrival of the other boats. We didn’t have to wait long before the boats started to arrive and the drinks started to flow. By 6pm we all had to start getting ready in our finery. An hour or so later we all emerged from our boats dressed to the nines and the party sure did start. The food was excellent and everybody had a fantastic time, dancing and drinking the night away. This has to be one of the best evenings we have all shared together and plans are already afoot to make next year’s Christmas party the best yet.

Yesterday was a much quieter day. We lazed around for much of the morning, drinking coffee and listening to the radio, in no great hurry to move on. Eventually we decided we should make a move back to the marina, enjoying a spot of brunch on our return before settling in with the paper, the puzzle pages and some afternoon drinks. The weather took a slight turn during the evening, with freshening winds mixed in with some heavy showers, but hunkered down in the cockpit we watched the weather flow by in warmth and comfort. Another fine weekend over and done with, the countdown to Christmas is now on.

Party Time

The weekend has come around pretty quickly again and what a weekend it promises to be. It is the weekend of the E Pontoon (Unofficial Boat Club) Christmas Party and with a confirmed 40 attendees it should be a lively one. This year it is a black tie, three course dinner and disco to be held at the Pyewipe Inn, Lincoln on Saturday night.

Tonight we are going to be very busy, running around like the proverbial headless chickens. The plan (but whatever goes according to plan?), is to arrive at the marina, load up the boat, fill the water tank, get showered and then head to the pub to get ourselves a prime mooring spot. No doubt we will also indulge in a quick pint or two in the pub to pass the remainder of the evening by.

Saturday we will have a walk into Lincoln to do the shopping, leaving Naughty-Cal moored outside the pub. It isn’t a long walk into town and it will be a nice change to stretch our legs and explore the locality by foot. It will also help us to work up an appetite ready for the evening’s meal. With dinner starting at 7.30pm we will have plenty of time to smarten up and get ready in our finery. Probably easier said than done in the confines of a small boat!! The newly fitted inverter will come into its own powering the Christmas lights and the electric blanket, the latter of which we will need if the temperatures keep going on their current downward trend.

Sunday will certainly be a quiet day. There will be aching heads all round and no rush to head back to the marina. We will have a fully stocked fridge so full English will be on the cards to help ease the hangovers and fill our bellies. With no great hurry to head back to the marina we may even stretch our legs on Sunday as well; a little fresh air will no doubt do us the world of good.

Here’s to what looks like being a great weekend.

ASBO's Year

We purchased Asbo, Naughty-Cals tender, in March of this year. We had previously purchased a rigid plastic dinghy with an electric outboard, which was fine for pottering around in the marina but wasn’t really suitable for our growing adventures at sea. As is usually the case we were not exactly looking for a replacement dinghy when Asbo happened to come for sale. A friend was selling her to buy a faster RIB with a bigger two stroke outboard engine. It was too good an opportunity to miss, an as new 2.4m Quicksilver dinghy with an as new low hours 6hp mariner four stroke outboard at a bargain price. So with a little bit of haggling the deal was struck and Naughty-Cal had a new buddy to keep her company on her many adventures.

It is safe to say that Asbo is a completely different beast to the little green dinghy we had previously owned. Asbo is much more stable and with the grunty 6hp engine much more fleet of foot with some extra oomph to push us along against a tide. This has led us to becoming much more adventurous with where and how we use the dinghy.

Asbo’s first major outing was in June this year when we loaded her onto Cal’s davits and took her down the Norfolk coast to Wells next the Sea. This gave us our first chance to take our dinghy onto the salty stuff. Wells is a great little harbour to explore with little creeks branching off the main navigation channel, but it was taking the dinghy to the entrance bar that was the highlight of the week. Riding the cresting waves in a little dinghy gives a whole different perspective to the experience and the landing party on the beach was the icing on the cake. Simply magic, and a great way to round off the stay in Wells.

Asbo’s holiday on the Norfolk Broads later in the year was her next chance for a dip in the salty stuff. After a four hour piggy back down the coast she was lowered into the water for her own adventure through Lowestoft docks, mixing it with the big boys of the commercial boating world. Later in the holiday she was again put into good use as we anchored the mother ships off Blakeney Bay and the dinghies took us to explore the deserted, golden beaches in this stunning and serene setting. The resident seals were extremely nosey, swimming around the dinghies as we headed back to the boats. A truly great day that will stick in our memories for a very long time to come.

Since her main holiday, Asbo has been relatively quiet with local trips on the Fossdyke and Witham. It is unfortunately time now for Asbo to be taken out of the water for some winter TLC, leaving dinghies to the mercy of the ice does them no favours. We had planned to take Asbo home but due to some unwilling floor boards she is currently hung on the davits, hopefully drying out. Over the winter we plan to sand down the floor boards and repaint them. The existing paint is starting to peel so a repaint will give her a fresh look ready for the 2012 cruising season and should hopefully provide some extra protection to the wooden flooring. We also have a new bow bag to install, which should keep our valuables safe and dry whilst onboard and give us some much needed storage stopping items rattling around on the floor. Finally the outboard has been taken home and is to be sent back to the local dealers for its full annual service. This should ensure that the engine is in tip top condition and hopefully reliable for our future adventures afloat in 2012 which promise to be more adventurous than ever.

We have been genuinely pleased with Asbo this year and pleasantly surprised by how little fuel she uses. Throughout the whole year we have filled the fuel can once and topped it up once again, amounting to about 15 litres of petrol for a full seasons use. Hardly worth complaining about and for the entertainment that she provides is a bit of a bargain.

Hopefully this winter will be short and mild and then we can look forward to relaunching Asbo early next year, fully prepared for the season to come and looking fresh and up to date and then we can hopefully enjoy some more dinghy adventures.

West Stockwith Again

Just a few more pictures from our latest West Stockwith cruise for you today. We were forwarded these by the crew of Red Duster at the weekend.

Naughty-Cal approaching West Stockwith

Naughty-Cal on the fly by

Happy narrowboaters (our guests that is) get their first taste of "real boating"

Wild and Windy

The weather certainly kicked up a bit of a fuss over the weekend with high winds and squally heavy showers in abundance. On Saturday we braved a quick run out to Lincoln to do the shopping before quickly heading back for the safety of the marina. By now the wind was certainly blowing and we had a very undignified and heavy landing on our mooring, luckily the fenders were at the right height and no damage was done. So we roped up well and sat out the storm with the aid of a few beers. With the winds growing ever stronger we retreated for an early night. It might have been an early night but it certainly wasn’t a restful one with the wind and rain periodically waking us up throughout the night.

Sunday didn’t start off much better. The wind was still howling down the marina with waves bigger than we have seen on the sea noisily crashing into the boats hulls. Gradually as the day wore on the wind started to ease so we grabbed the chance whilst it was there to sort out the dinghy. The engine was pulled out, cleaned up and stashed in the car. Then it was time to start on the dinghy. So we pulled her out and set about the thankless task of scrubbing the hull, which was looking like a forest already with the rapid weed growth. After much scrubbing the hull and tubes were weed free but we need to get some proper dinghy cleaner to get rid of the lime staining at the waterline. Finally we deflated the dinghy and attempted to get the floor boarding out ready to take home to sand down and repaint. We tried for over an hour to get the boards out, before giving in, re-inflating the dinghy and hanging it on the davits. The current theory is that the boards have swollen with the recent rain water sitting on them. So it is now hung vertically off the back of Naughty-Cal in an attempt to dry them out and have another go, in a few weeks, at getting them out. Failing that then come spring and the warmer weather we will have to sand them down and repaint them insitu on the pontoons. The evening finished quite serenely, which was a pleasant change after the battering the boat had taken over the last couple of days. Under clear skies and breathless winds the temperature plummeted allowing a sharp frost for the first time this year, but, with the heating on we were warm and cosy in the cabin watching Still Game on DVD, with a hearty dinner of lemon and garlic peppered pork loin, mashed turnip, onion and parsnip, asparagus, carrots and cabbage cooking away on the stove. We even ate at the saloon table for the first time this year, preferring to be tucked up warm than outside on the cooler cockpit.

Winter is certainly on its way.

Its the Weekend Again

November seems to have flown by. It’s the weekend yet again, it doesn’t seem as though it was four days ago that we were last at the boat. Work has been busy, home life has been hectic and planning our Christmas season is also keeping us pretty busy. There don’t seem to be enough hours in the day at the moment.

It will be another busy weekend onboard Naughty-Cal with a host of small jobs to start and finish, she will also no doubt need another quick rinse to rid her of a week’s worth of building site grime. She is getting ready for another top up of diesel, the mild month we have had so far has meant that we are using more fuel than expected for the time of year with more cruising than anticipated. We will take 60 litres this week which will see her almost topped up again. The list of jobs for this weekend includes, looking at the navigation lights, again, the white stern light has given up the ghost for no apparent reason, applying the new Sealine decals to the transom and interior mirror, a job we have put off for a while and having a general clear out of the cabin and cupboards again. It is amazing how quickly you accumulate junk onboard a boat. One last job for the weekend will be cleaning and packing away the dinghy. Asbo has had a season of hard use, much the same as Naughty-Cal, so this winter she will be taken home and treated to a good spruce up, with her tubes and hull thoroughly cleaned, floor repainted, bow bag installed and engine sent to the dealers for its annual service (we normally service our own engines on the cars and boat but we can’t even buy the service parts for the price the dealer has quoted), all in readiness for next season. A little hard work over the winter will mean that we are ready for the off come spring and the start of the 2012 holiday season.

We will of course still have plenty of time to do the usual rounds with a short cruise into Lincoln to do the weekends food shopping and have a spot of breakfast or brunch depending on the time. With the weather continuing to be unseasonably mild we should probably have another weekend away from our home berth and make the most of it. Destination unknown as of yet though.
Sunday, as is becoming the norm, will be a relaxing day, a day for unwinding and chilling out. With no deadlines looming, and no need to rush, we will have the day to pick and choose what we do and where we go. A visit to a pub will no doubt be on the cards but we must make sure that Naughty-Cal is left for the week, ready for next weekend’s E Pontoon Christmas party at the Pyewipe Inn. Next weekend we will leave our berth on Friday evening to take the pick of the pubs moorings, so she must be ready to leave at the turn of the key on Friday evening, with a full water tank, adequate diesel supplies and adequate beer supplies.

Chopsticks

Following a recent unsuccessful attempt to eat food in public with chop sticks we have decided that we need to get in some more practice before we attempt it again in public. So we have taken the plunge and ordered six sets of chop sticks, two sets for home and four sets for the boat. This should enable us to practice whenever possible so that the next time we eat in a posh Chinese Restaurant we won’t be throwing more food at each other and the floor than we are eating.

Now rather naively I had assumed that you could buy chop sticks from any supermarket, it seemed sensible, however upon trying to purchase some it proved rather harder than we thought. We have eventually ordered our sticks from China, finding them to be the best source for our needs. Six sets of stainless steel chop sticks delivered from china will come to the princely sum of £7.20, including delivery. Now we just need to wait for them to be delivered before the practice can begin in earnest.

We are determined to crack this ancient form of cutlery and become fluent users of chop sticks. Lord only knows how much food will be thrown on the floor, at each other or down our clothes in the meantime though. This could be a rather messy process.

Garlic, Rosemary and Chilli Lamb

I am a great lover of Lamb and find it hard to beat a good old fashioned Lamb roast lunch, with Yorkshire puddings, roast potatoes and all the trimmings. Hard to beat that was until I discovered that lamb goes hand in hand with chilli.

For this recipe, take a lamb joint of your choice, we usually use shoulder or leg joints but it will work just as well with any cut. 24 hours before you want to eat your lamb make up a mixture of butter, chopped rosemary, chopped chillies and crushed garlic. Smother the lamb with this mixture and leave to sit in the fridge overnight. Then cook your lamb as usual, the time it takes will depend on your personal preference and the size of the joint. The result should be a delicious crisp skin and fat layer that has taken on all of the lovely flavours, with melt in the mouth meat.

Roast potatoes and parsnips scattered around the meat also take on the added zing of the chillies and flavour of the garlic and rosemary making them unbelievably delicious.

Enjoy......

A Weekend of Contrasts

What a start to the weekend. Saturday was bright, sunny and relatively mild. It gave us the ideal opportunity to give Naughty-Cal a good scrub; the last couple of months of cruising have left her looking fairly grubby, not helped by the building works starting near our home berth. With Cal gleaming once more we set out for Lincoln to do a spot of shopping, Liam going one way and me the other, catching back up at the boat. Liam wired in the inverter, a job which has been on our list for a long while but always seemed to get knocked back. At last it is done in time for the winter season; we can now use the electric blanket whilst away from our berth. We also fixed the door catch, another annoying little job that has taken a age to get around to doing, then we started to dress Naughty-Cal for our pontoon dinner in a couple of weekends time, she looks great with her lights twinkling away at night. With the boat now in fine fettle we set sail for Saxilby, not a long cruise but enough to feel as though we are away for the weekend. We treated ourselves to a lovely Chinese take away before heading to the Sun Inn for a few pints.

Sunday was a complete contrast to the previous day. Dull, gloomy, foggy and damp, so we settled in with lots of hot coffee and the newspaper, tucked up in the warmth of the cockpit with no need to go anywhere in a hurry. The weather didn’t give us any great sense of hurry but eventually we set sail for home in the thickening gloom, a slow cruise given the conditions and we both felt happy as we rounded to corner and moored on our berth, the heater still hard at work keeping us warm. With a pan of stew bubbling away on the stove we spent the evening with a few beers and some good music before turning in early ready for the working week ahead.

Another November Weekend

Well another weekend is upon us and it seems to have come around so quickly. The countdown is certainly on for Christmas and the remaining weeks are just flying by.

This weekend we have a bit of a clean up to do. Naughty-Cal is looking very grubby at the moment and whilst the weather is fair for the time of year we may as well make the most of it and give her a good scrub, most probably for the last time this year. This should not take us too long though, one of the benefits of having a small boat, so should leave us plenty of time to head into Lincoln to do a spot of shopping and grab a bite to eat. Our butcher has started doing a “meat for the week” deal which is too good to miss. With a roasting joint of beef, lamb or pork, two pork chops, two chicken breasts, two rump steaks, some mince and six sausages for £10, it is incredible value and serves us well for the weekends meals and also most of the following weeks evening meals. With the shopping done and the boat fully stocked and cleaned we will no doubt have a small cruise somewhere, Saxilby seems highly likely to be our destination and if the weather is kind we may stay overnight and make the most of the remaining 2011 season away from our home berth.

With no concrete plans for the weekend Sunday will most likely be a day of relaxing with the newspaper, some good food and a few beers whilst watching the world go by. If we have both gotten rid of these stinking common colds we may even venture out for an autumn walk to exercise the lungs and legs and try to get back to some sort of fitness. I hate being ill but I am determined that this cold will not ruin our weekend. With some well earned rest, good food and liquid refreshment I am sure we will recover quickly enough.

Bangers and Mash

Winter time is all about comfort food and keeping the cold chill at bay and what could be more comforting than a steaming hot plate of bangers and mash with lashings of onion gravy, on a cold, dark winters evening. The sausages should ideally be of a good quality, preferably from a decent, local butcher, but even on a stretched budget you can enjoy this great dish with cheaper supermarket alternatives.

We prefer to use a good quality Lincolnshire sausage which we oven bake for 45 minutes to give a lovely gooey skin that melts in the mouth. For the mash we don’t just use the plain old potato, we add sweet potato, parsnip and turnip to give a lovely variety of flavours, colours and textures, and also add a good knob of butter whilst mashing for some extra richness and smoothness. A couple of finely chopped chillies also add some extra zing to your mash if chilli is your thing.

For the onion gravy add a couple of chopped onions to a frying pan, fry until browning nicely and turning sticky and then add a good quality beef stock, simmer the mix for 20 minutes until it starts to thicken nicely. Finally serve it all together on a hot plate piling the sausages on top of the lovely creamy mash then smothering them in your great onion gravy.

Proper, comfort food for these darker evenings and a great, hearty meal for any budget. Simple, honest cooking that anyone can achieve.

West Stockwith Again - Part 2

Just a few more pictures from the weekend for you today. A bit of a lazy post i am afraid.

Naughty-Cal with the hoods off in November!!

Naughty-Cal and Red Duster in West Stockwith Basin

West Stockwith Basin and Lock

The River Trent looking downstream from West Stockwith Lock

The Chesterfield Canal in the November sunshine

West Stockwith Again

After an absence of two years from visiting this lovely village we were there again in quick succession to our last visit, last month, over the weekend. This time we had the pleasure of taking a couple of new narrowboating friends with us to show them what our boats can do.

We set off under blue skies and on a mild November morning set off down the Trent with the canopies off, a real pleasure for the time of year. We had a lovely run down the river with our friends driving the boat all the way from Torksey to Gainsborough, where, Liam took over to do the fast driving through the many bends between Gainsborough road-bridge and the lock. Needless to say our friends were suitably impressed with a 30 knot run down the river, much faster than they are used to on their narrowboats, and with huge grins on their faces we got them safely into the basin without hitting the lock walls. Not bad given our past experiences with this lock. After a spot of lunch we said our goodbyes and we went our separate ways. We had a great afternoon and evening in the White Hart with a fantastic meal and enjoyed the disco, raising funds for the Help the Heroes campaign. A really good evening in good company s hard to beat at the best of times, Saturday evening will be a hard one to follow up.

Early on Sunday morning we woke to a dull, damp and drizzly scene. We were all slightly worse for wear and none of us were looking forward to the journey home. But with a lively 5 knot spring tide pushing us along we were easily making 10 knots, and at times more without pushing the boats hard, a lovely jaunt back despite the weather and our hangovers. Before long Torksey loomed into sight and we were quickly back on the calm waters of the Fossdyke. After a pit stop for breakfast and more coffee we set off for Saxilby to do some shopping, before settling in with the crossword and Sudoku and a few beers for the early part of the afternoon. On the way back to the marina we made a slight detour to the Pyewipe for a quick pint, or two, before heading back for our berth, another fantastic weekend under our belts and finished off with a lovely hot homemade pasta dish .

Next weekend the boat needs a proper clean up. Cruising at this time of year is great with the autumnal scenery and the quiet waters but it doesn’t half make a mess of the boats with mud, cut grass and general dirt accumulation. Not helped along by the next phase of piling and construction works at the marina of course. But we should complain, at least they are going to be finishing the place off and this is the last phase of construction works.

The Places We Will Go - Part 4 2012

With another successful season under our belts and the onset of the winter months it is the ideal time to start planning our 2012 cruising season. It promises to be yet another cracker of a year with plenty of cruises in company to new and varied cruising grounds.

Our first holiday as always will be during Easter week, a great time to wake the boats up from their winter semi hibernation. Next year the plan is to head into unknown territory and cruise to Leeds on the Aire and Calder navigation. The trip will take in a plethora of different waterways from canals to tidal rivers and should prove to be an excellent shake down run for the year ahead. We will enter the canal at its terminus at Goole Docks, a first for us as we have yet to enter the huge commercial Ocean Lock. Then it should be a straight forward run along the commercial navigation towards Leeds, on waterways we have only partially explored on our route from Selby to Keadby. On the home bound leg we will take a slightly different route down the South Yorkshire Navigation leaving the system at Keadby and heading for home on the Trent. This trip should hopefully highlight any potential problems for the year ahead and will also give us a chance to drop the hook in a new location for us as we wait for the tide at Trent Falls.

Our second holiday of the year will be in quick succession to the first with a Whitsun week trip in company to Whitby and Scarborough. Another set of firsts for us as the furthest we have been on the Humber is Hull and we have yet to turn left and travel up the Yorkshire coastline. Given the right weather this should be a great first coastal trip for 2012, introducing us to new and exciting cruising grounds on the Yorkshire coast. This trip will take in the harbour at Grimsby as an overnight pit stop before heading to Whitby for a couple of days, exploring the town then heading back down the coast to Scarborough for another couple of days by the coast. Then we shall have a leisurely trip back up the Humber calling in at Hull on the way past to refuel and, if time allows, spend an evening moored in the heart of the city.

Our main holiday for 2012 will involve both coastal and inland cruising, with a trip across the Wash and up the Ouse to Ely. This was our back up plan for 2011 but this year we think it deserves the chance to explore these pretty waterways as part of our main holiday. We aim to have a relaxing week exploring the Ouse, Wissey, Little Ouse and Lark, before heading back out to sea and calling in at the ports of Wisbech on the Nene and Fossdyke on the Welland during the return journey to Boston. This will also give us a chance to drop anchor and explore the waters of the Wash as we wait for the tides, something we have not had the pleasure to do as yet.

So another busy cruising season ahead, with lots of planning to do over the quieter winter months as well as a whole list of jobs to complete we should be kept very busy. There will of course be plenty of local cruising in store, to compliment the trips further afield. Naughty-Cal will as usual, be kept busy and will hopefully prove to be as reliable and trustworthy as ever. So here’s to 2012 and another great cruising year.

The Places We Have Been - Part 3 2011

2011 promised to be our most adventurous season of cruising we have had with Naughty-Cal and it didn’t let us down. Planning the years cruising took up most of the winter months, much longer than anticipated, and it was with a final flurry of work and odd jobs that we finally made Naughty-Cal ready for her first holiday, on the evening before our departure.

The first holiday of the year was a warm up cruise during Easter Week, in the company of Devocean and Boundarys Vice, upstream on the River Trent to Nottingham. A lazy week spent checking out the boats after their quite winter rest, in readiness for the adventures later in the year. All of the boats performed well, the weather was kind to us and barring a little beach incident heading back downstream on the tidal Trent, proved all of the boats to be in fine fettle and the crews all in tune with their craft, even when the going got tough and things didn’t go according to plan.

Naughty-Cal on her Trent Beach

The next trip was another cruise in company, this time to Wells next the Sea in the company of our good friends onboard Devocean and a couple of other novice crews, new to the sea. This was another great trip and a great chance to check that Naughty-Cal and Devocean were running well in time for the big adventure of 2011 and that we, the crew, were ready to face the sea again. Wells as always was stunning and treated us well with the weather despite a slightly choppy outbound crossing it soon perked up and the sun shone treating us to the best that this town has to offer. Another great week spent in one of our now favourite seaside towns.

Early morning start from Wells.

The last trip of 2011 was by far the best and by far our most enjoyable yet with Naughty-Cal. A long awaited two week trip to the Norfolk Broads. We were blessed with blue skies, flat seas and great weather on the outbound leg of the trip, treating us to stunning scenery and a great entry to the Broads. Our week on the Broads was uneventful and greatly enjoyable, all the places we remembered from our hire boat days still as welcoming and pretty as ever. All too soon it was time to head for home and under blue skies we had a stunning run back up the coast towards Wells next the Sea, and a great afternoon spent at anchor in Blakeney bay, awaiting our tide. Unfortunately this is where the weather broke giving us a rough few days in Wells and a decidedly rough passage home. But we live to tell the tale and will no doubt do the same next year. If anything this homeward journey taught us more about Naughty-Cal than any other trip we have faced so far. She proved to be one hell of a tough little boat, despite being faced with conditions well beyond her design criteria she held her own and got us home safely.

Naughty-Cal moored at Neatishead Staithe

With all of our major holidays completed for this year it is time for us to start looking ahead to 2012. A year that promises to be full of firsts and full of adventure and will hopefully build on our gaining confidence at sea. With the winter months ahead we will have plenty of time to plan our year and continue to modify Naughty-Cal to suit our ever growing cruising needs. It will also give us a chance to give Naughty-Cal some well earned TLC as a big thank you for the past twelve months for she has guided us safely through yet another successful year, thanks Cal.

The Places We Have Been - Part 2 2010

With a full season under our belts it was time to get more adventurous with our cruising grounds and test our nerve and Naughty-Cal’s abilities. 2010 promised to be a year packed with new and exciting cruising opportunities.

Our first trip of 2010 was an early season, March, trip down the Humber to Hull Marina. Not the most exciting of locations at first glance, it has to be admitted, but it was to be our first trip onto the estuary. A truly memorable trip amongst the big shipping and a surprisingly good location to spend a few days exploring the city. The marina is very nice with friendly and helpful staff and the city centre is great with loads to see and do, far more than we could do justice in a few short days. More importantly though was the confidence this trip gave us in Naughty-Cal, a first time and firsthand experience of her true spirit and what she was originally designed for.

Naughty-Cal on the Humber, just downstream of the Humber Bridge

With our first trip on the big waters of the Humber a success, our next holiday was another step further forward again. Our first trip on the sea, to the Norfolk fishing town of Wells next the Sea, just a short hop across the wash and onto the Norfolk coast. Even though we had building confidence in our boat and her ability, we were still very nervous about this our first trip into the wide blue yonder and Naughty-Cal’s first experience of the salty stuff. We needn’t have worried however, after a perfect trip across the Wash we were grinning from ear to ear as we entered the shelter of the harbour. Naughty-Cal handled the sea beautifully and Wells next the Sea was the real jewel in the crown. A perfect start to our coastal cruising chapter and the start of the longing for more time on the coast.

Naughty-Cal rafted up on the pontoons at Wells next the Sea. Cal is the furthest boat out

Our final holiday for 2010 was another trip to York, this time in the company of our good friends onboard Wish You Were Here. The trip went without a hitch, despite some adverse weather and we had another very enjoyable week onboard, York yet again proving to be a great holiday destination to visit by boat. With a year’s more experience under our belts, the extra trip planning certainly paid off and it showed with the ease with which this trip flew by with no problems to report.

Naughty-Cal moored on Kings Staithe in the centre of York

With our final holiday for 2010 under our belts and another year of successful cruising completed, it was time to get our heads together to start planning for 2011. We knew we would be cruising in company for the majority of the year and we knew where we planned to go. Would we make it?

The Places We Have Been - Part 1 2009

We purchased Naughty-Cal late in 2008, as she was our first boat we spent the last couple of months of 2008 learning how to handle her on the relatively benign waters of the Fossdyke and River Witham. Early in 2009 we decided it was time to change this and become a little more adventurous.

We had heard all sorts of horror stories about the Trent of course, who hasn’t, but in late January we decided to see for ourselves what all the fuss was about. Our first trip out onto the Trent was downstream to West Stockwith where we had a very enjoyable couple of evenings moored in the basin. Not an epic trip by any stretch of the imagination and one we don’t think twice about attempting at the weekend now, but it was our first trip on tidal waters.

Naughty-Cal in West Stockwith Basin

Following the success of our first foray onto tidal waters, Easter 2009 saw our first real holiday onboard, with a nine day trip to York and Ripon. Naivety is a wonderful thing, and this trip truly kicked off our rose tinted spectacles. It was an outbound trip full of disasters and incidents and a home bound trip that tested our stamina and highlighted a desperate lack of preparation on our behalf, but it firmly cemented our love of boating and the challenges it can bring. And nothing could spoil the feeling of arriving in York on your own boat, mooring right in the heart of the city.

Naughty-Cal in Ripon Canal Basin

With the boat safely home and a few weeks spent repairing and replacing damaged equipment it was a couple of months before we were afforded our next holiday on board. This time it was a sedate trip upstream on the Trent, through the Nottingham Canal and onto the River Soar, travelling as far as Loughborough. A very pleasant and relaxing trip, a million miles away from the previous holiday but equally as rewarding and 100% enjoyable throughout.

Naughty-Cal in Loughborough Basin

The trip to Loughborough rounded off our first year afloat and what a first year it was, full of highs, lows and mistakes along the way. But this first year firmly cemented our love for boat ownership.